Hopefully Happy Ending
by D.L.Belikova
Summary: Sequel to Alternative Ending to Shadow Kiss. Rated T for swearing; may change. No Strigoi Dimitri! YAY!
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: You know the drill. This is like my version of Blood Promise, only no Strigoi Dimitri and no Russia. But I promise there will be Sydney, Abe and the Belikovs at some point.**

Chapter 1

Two weeks later, I was standing in front of my mirror, putting in one last hairpin when I heard a knock at my door. I frowned and went to answer it. Dimitri hadn't said anything yet, and since tonight was prom, I figured he wasn't going.

So you can imagine how surprised I was to see him standing outside my door in a tux. He had his hair down and looked even hotter than usual—if that was even possible.

"You ready?" he asked.

"Ready for what?"

"You wanted to tell people tonight, right?" I nodded. "So let's tell people." It took a second to sink in, but when it did, I threw my arms around his neck, and felt his wrap around my waist.

"I love you, Dimitri Belikov."

"I love you, too, Rose Hathaway."

I kissed him and set off; off to tell the world about the man I love.

When we arrived at the commons, I was shocked. They'd done an amazing job at transforming it, but everybody's attention was focussed on us. I was wearing a skin-tight red satin halter dress with a plunging neckline. It was floor length, backless, and had a split up the side nearly to my hip. I had matching set of platform heels, which made my legs look great, but that wasn't why people were staring. I was holding Dimitri's hand.

"Do you have a problem?" Everyone just stared in silence. "No? Then stop staring!" I snapped. They all turned away, afraid of my anger, but we still received a few sidelong glances. I ignored them as best I could and we made our way over to Lissa and Christian. Adrian was hanging around, as usual, and he just glared at Dimitri before he excused himself.

"I need a drink. And a cigarette. Or three." I heard him mutter as he left. We all laughed at him.

"So you decided to tell Kirova, I presume." Christian said. I nodded. "So you decided to do it this way because she'd have a stroke and not remember? Nice."

"I know, is it a great plan or what?" Dimitri and Lissa just rolled their eyes at me. Christian grinned.

Dimitri hooked his arm around my waist. "Aw, they look so cute." Lissa muttered to herself. I laughed and leaned my head on Dimitri's shoulder. "Awww." She said again.

I rolled my eyes just as Make Me Wanna Die by The Pretty Reckless came on.

"Dance with me?" I asked Dimitri, giving him puppy dog eyes. He shook his head.

"Not a chance, Roza." I glared at him for a moment before turning to Lissa. I grabbed her hand and dragged her to the dance floor. We were the only ones dancing at the moment, but that didn't matter; we both loved this song and danced and sang along for the whole song.

"Take me, I'm alive, never was a girl with a wicked mind, But everything looks better, when the sun goes down; I had everything, opportunities for eternity and I could belong to the night…!"

We screamed the words over the music and I caught Dimitri shaking his head at me. I waved at him and blew him a kiss. By the end of the song, nearly everyone had joined us on the dance floor and we were both out of breath, but I was no way near as bad as Lissa.

"You okay, Lissa?" I asked; she nodded her head. "You look about to pass out! Liss, sit down for a moment." This time she complied and let me drag her off.

Christian and Dimitri came up to us as I got her sat down. Adrian shortly followed with a bottle of Vodka in his hand.

"So I take it Little Miss Princess outdid herself tonight, Little Dhampir?"

"We only danced to one song and she just about collapsed! Are you honestly feeling okay, Liss?"

"Yeah, I'm fine; I really did just overdo it, Rose. Don't worry." I frowned at her and tried digging a little deeper through the bond. Once I realise that she just had overdone it, I paid a little more attention to my surroundings and realised that Christina Aguilera's Dirty was now playing.

"Dance with me, Comrade!" I practically begged him with my eyes.

"I don't dance." He said stubbornly.

"Sure you do. It's easy; I'll show you." I tugged on his hand, but he wouldn't budge.

"Little Dhampir, I'll be happy to dance with you." Adrian said optimistically.

"Not a chance," Dimitri and I said together, only I added, "Asshole," on the end.

"Oh, Little Dhampir, you know you want to."

"No, I don't. I'm going to find Eddie." I grumbled. I looked over to find Eddie near the DJ booth the school had hired. "Eddie!" I screeched, running off and probably leaving everyone else deaf.

I ran up to him and grabbed his hand. "Dance with me." He complied quickly and we danced to the beat of the song. I was a little angry as there was less than a minute left of the song. Although, I was somewhat pacified when the song The Bad Touch by The Bloodhound Gang came on.

We danced for a few songs more, but by the third, Eddie seemed to be getting uncomfortable.

"What's wrong, Eddie?"

"Why is Belikov glaring at me? I haven't done anything wrong!" he exploded. I laughed. "You think this is funny? I could die and I don't even know why!"

"Eddie, chill, he's glaring at you because he's my date." I laughed. His eyes widened. "We've been dating for, like, three months now. Have you genuinely not noticed anything?"

"But…he's…you're…when…? Have you…?" I doubled over in laughter and nearly fell to the floor at his shock and confusion. When I had regained myself, I answered his questions.

"Yes he's my teacher. He is twenty-four, but I'm eighteen now, if you remember. We got together the night the school was attacked and…yes." He just stared at me.

"Christ, Rose."

"Do you want to go sit down, Eddie?"

"Uh, huh." He mumbled. I was still giggling to myself over his stuttering earlier when we arrived back at the table. I noticed Christian was sniggering to himself, too.

"What's funny?" Dimitri asked, coming to wrap an arm around my waist; I pulled away.

"Woah, don't do that! He's already comatose; it might just send him over the edge."

"Oh, ha, ha, Rose." Eddie glared at me from his seat.

"I'm sorry, but that could possibly be the funniest thing I've ever seen Christian and I burst out laughing again. "Did you see it too?" I asked him.

"Yeah, and you're right. It _was_ the funniest thing to ever happen."

"Well," I allowed, "besides the time you picked up the wrong underwear, that is. I didn't know you were into pink lace, Christian." Everyone burst out laughing at that, even Lissa. Christian's face turned bright red.

"What? But…how did you know about that?" he whispered venomously to me. I burst out laughing again.

"I didn't! Well, not until now, at least!" I could barely breathe I was laughing so hard. "Ohmigod, look at your face! It's_ so_ true!" Christian looked as if he was going to set me on fire. "Oh, you do _not_ wanna go there."

"Says me. Plus you would not live to see another day if you tried. Lissa would bring me back and then Dimitri and I would murder you with bare hands." I explained with a sickly sweet smile, and I swear, there was actual steam coming out of his ears.

"You'll pay for this, Hathaway." He shot me one last glare and grabbed the bottle of vodka from Adrian's hand and stormed off, drinking from the almost full bottle. I turned to Lissa.

"Did he honestly try and put your panties on?" I asked incredulously. She nodded her head and I was knocked over by another bout of hysterics that would've knocked me to the ground if Dimitri hadn't caught me

"Do _you_ need to sit down, Roza?" I could only nod. He set me own in a chair, which I promptly fell straight off in my hysterics. That sent everyone else into giggle fits. I laughed for at least ten minutes before I calmed down enough to sit on the chair.

"Ow, ow, ow, stitch!" I laughed. I had tears running down my face. My makeup job was entirely ruined, but I didn't care, because Christian was making his way back to us. He was being propped by Lissa, and the bottle was now empty. He was pissed. "Hey, there, Princess. How's it going?" I giggled.

"Go to hell." He slurred.

"Sorry, can't. Satan still has a restraining order on me." Lissa and Eddie snickered, and I couldn't help but giggle. "I'm sure he'd appreciate you, though. I hear he's likes frilly panties. Ooh, do you have any frilly ones, or are they all lace?" the last one was a bit below the belt, I admit, but I couldn't resist. Oh, well, can't take it back now.

"Fuck off."

"Christian, I think it's best if you go to bed now," Dimitri said, "You're drunk and may end up doing something that'll end up with a black eye."

"Sure." He got up and staggered his way back to his dorm. Lissa got up and helped him after the first time he tripped.

"You're evil, you know that, right?" Dimitri clarified.

"Yes, I do. And that's why you love me." I pulled him in for a quick kiss, but when we pulled away, I saw there was someone watching us.

"Miss Hathaway, Guardian Belikov, my office. Now."

Ah, shit.

**I know, it's not long, but I just loved it. The next one will be longer to make up for it. Promise.**


	2. Chapter 2

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN DIMITRI. OR ROSE. OR ABE.**

Chapter 2

Kirova stood glaring at the two of us. I still had my arms around Dimitri's neck, and his were wrapped around my waist. I had to think quickly to avoid getting busted. Inspiration struck me like a bolt of lightning and I began to giggle.

"Miss Hathaway, this is not funny." She fumed.

"No, but your face is." That only made her angrier.

I unwrapped myself from Dimitri's arms and stumbled towards Kirova. "I'm just joking," I slurred, doing my best drunk act, "Your face is beautiful." I cooed, pinching her cheek.

"Miss Hathaway, are you drunk."

"No! Why would you think that?" I said dramatically, and promptly fell on my ass. I began laughing again and shot Dimitri a look that said 'play along' before righting myself and standing up. I wasn't entirely convinced he got the message. I swayed and giggled once more.

"Come with me. Now." She shot me a glare that clearly said that she saw straight through my act.

"Fine." I grumbled. I stomped along behind her and could practically hear Dimitri roll his eyes behind me. "Coming, Comrade?"

"I don't have much choice, do I?" he said following on behind me. I grinned at him.

When we made it to her office, Alberta was already there, looking guilty. I instantly knew what had happened: Kirova had quizzed Alberta who had then cracked and told her. She then went looking for us. She looked up and gave us an apologetic smile.

"Sit down." Kirova ordered. We sat opposite her and she glared at each of us in turn, but when she turned to Dimitri, the glare turned into confusion. "Why are you wearing a tux?"

"He was my prom date." I said before Dimitri had the chance to say anything.

"I suppose it makes sense." She muttered to herself before addressing us. "How long has this been going on?"

"Uh…three months…ish." I said.

"And how long have you known about this?" she gestured to Alberta.

"Um…ages." She said eventually.

"How long is 'ages'?"

"Since a month after Rose came back to the Academy."

"I think that's quite a bit longer than three months, Miss Hathaway."

"Yeah, well, you remember Victor's anger charm the night Lissa was kidnapped?" I asked; she nodded warily. "Yeah—not an anger charm."

"Then what was it?"

"Well I don't really think you want me to go into much detail about that particular night."

"_What was it_?" she repeated.

Dimitri sighed. "A lust charm. Natalie had been spying on us since Rose and Lissa returned. She noticed that we had feelings for each other and Victor used that against us."

"But we didn't do it then, I swear. Dimitri figured it out before it got that far. Promise." I added, quickly.

"What do you mean, 'we didn't do it _then_'? Does that mean you did 'it' another time?"

"Does it matter?" I countered

"I believe it does. Since the relationship alone is illegal…well you get the picture." She looked at us again. "So, have you?" I felt my face get hot and looked down at my lap. We both stayed silent. I heard the door open behind us, but didn't really want to look who it was. "If you have any interest in keeping your job, you may want to answer my question now. Are. You. Sleeping. Together?" she punctuated each word with a stab on her desk.

"Yes," he whispered.

"You sick bastard."

I turned to where the voice had come from to see my mother standing in the doorway. She fixed each of us with a stony glare before storming out of the room. Shit.

"Who else knows?" she asked.

"Um, Lissa, Christian, and now Eddie."

"Well, Belikov, I have no choice but to suspend you until further notice. You will still be Vasilisa's guardian after graduation, but you two will not see each other until then. Am I clear?" we both nodded. "Good. Now leave before your mother does permanent damage." We nodded again and left the room.

We made our way across campus towards the guardian building. He wrapped an arm around my waist and I leaned my head on his shoulder as we walked. We didn't speak, but the silence was comfortable. We didn't worry about getting caught since everyone was still at the party anyway, not that it would matter, anyway. Either way, we made it up to his room without being caught.

When we got there, we could just hear the music from Prom. It was slower songs now. It was quiet, but it was there. Come Home by One Republic was playing, if I was hearing correctly. Dimitri turned to me and wrapped my arms around his neck. I rested my head on his chest as he wrapped his arms around my waist. We began swaying to the music.

"I thought you didn't dance?"

"I don't dance in front of other people." He corrected.

"Well, then, aren't I lucky. The sole spectator of your debut show." I joked; he laughed a bit.

"I'm going to miss you so much." I whispered.

"I know. It'll be so hard without you."

"What do you say we make the most of our last night before you leave?" I asked him, giving him a cheeky smile.

"I say I wouldn't miss it for the world." I wrapped my arms around him and kissed him full on the mouth. "I love you, Roza." He said.

"I love you, too." I kissed him again and he untied the satin around my neck, letting the dress fall to the floor. I unbuttoned his shirt and, one by one, each item of clothing disappeared, and we were together again for the first time since the night in the cabin.

We were awoken by a banging on the door. I looked over to his alarm clock and saw that it was only six a.m.

"Christ; who the fuck gets up at this hour?" I grumbled. The banging continued. Dimitri looked over to me.

"You may want to put some clothes on." He suggested. I realised we were both naked and I remembered how I ended up here.

"They're just going to yell at me about everything, anyway. Why even bother opening the do—" I was cut off by whoever it was behind the door.

"YOU SICK BASTARD! I KNOW SHE'S IN THERE! OPEN THE DOOR NOW!"

We looked at each other for a moment. Shit. He got up, pulling on a pair of jeans and tossing me a t-shirt to put on. It was massive on me, but it would do. I looked around and found my underwear, pulling it on beneath the shirt and got my stuff together. He pulled a shirt over his head and I ran to the bathroom, taking my things with me.

I heard Dimitri open the door, and then the door being slammed against the wall.

"Where is she, you sick son of a bitch?" the voice was not one I recognised, so I had no idea why they were so bothered. The voice was slightly accented, but I couldn't quite place where it was from.

"I don't know who you're talking about, sir." He was in full guardian mode now, trying his hardest not to get us both caught by a complete stranger.

"Yes, you do, you creep. Do you sleep with all your students?" The bathroom door slammed open and revealed a Moroi man standing there. He had hair and eyes similar to mine, and his skin had an olive tone beneath the usual pallor. Dimitri stood behind him, looking slightly worried.

"Come with me. Now." He demanded.

"Who the fuck are you to be ordering me around? I don't even know who the fuck you are!" I yelled

"I said come with me, little girl. If you don't, there will be consequences. You shouldn't be here as it is."

"And I said no, old man. Now _you_ tell _me_: _who_ the _fuck_ are you?" I growled.

"Abe Mazur," I saw Dimitri stiffen slightly at his name, "that's who the fuck I am. And your mother is waiting for you. She went to your room first to find it empty. She guessed this was where you were. She was right." He took a step towards me, and I spun out, kicking him in the stomach. He flew backwards.

"_You_ have _no_ right to tell _me_ what to do. I don't know you, and I don't know _how_ you know my mother." I lunged at him again, but Dimitri grabbed me around my waist. Abe was pulling himself up on the bed by now.

"I'm your father," it sounded like he grunted.

"You're my _what_?" I hissed. He got a look of terror on his face.

"Your…f-father." He stuttered quietly. I launched myself at him once again, but Dimitri held me tighter.

"If that's true, then you really do have no right to order me around like that. You've been entirely absent from my life. What makes you think you can just waltz right in and tell me what to do all of a sudden?"

"I could have your boyfriend killed within the hour, that's what. And there's nothing you can do about it."

"I'd like to see you try, old man. You've never seen us fight."

"Don't need to. I have an army of guardians on my side. You can't fight all them off."

"I could tear them apart and do my nails at the same time." I said coldly. Dimitri had sensed that I wasn't about to kill him just now and let me go. I took one more step. "I've killed more Strigoi alone than your boys all put together and I haven't even graduated," I gestured to Dimitri with my head, "And he's killed more. I don't think you _or_ your boys could take us, for _some_ reason." The last part was ever so slightly sarcastic.

"Rose. Please, your Mom just wants to speak to you. She's been looking for you for ages." He spoke softer now, trying to get me to comply. It wasn't compulsion, I knew that, but there was something in his voice that urged me to go with him.

"Okay, but can we go back to my room first? I need to get some clothes on."

He nodded and, barefoot, I walked to my dorm room.

**Ha, LOL, I bet you thought that was Janine. Me too, but I decided as I was writing that it should be Abe. I wanted him to come into it as soon as I could, so he came in now.**

**R&R**

**3**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

We only made a quick stop at my room, literally only just long enough for me to change; Dimitri's shirt would not have been the ideal clothing choice when speaking to my mother. I'd left my dress and shoes in Dimitri's room, figuring I could grab them later—after the mom fiasco was over. When I was done and had an actual pair of shoes on, he practically dragged me to guest housing.

"Care to explain?" she demanded.

"Woah, Mom, talk about blunt!" I hadn't even made it through the door yet and she was already bombarding me. "Let me at least let me sit down first." She allowed that small concession…although the questioning began almost immediately.

"Care to explain?" this time she spoke through gritted teeth. She had the look on her face that said, "don't mess with me, Rose," that a lot of adults used on me. Her face had gone bright red—redder than I thought possible.

"Umm, I didn't listen to you that time in the infirmary." No point in warming her up to it; she already knew what was going on and it would just wind her up more if I tried to stall.

"I know that, I'm not stupid. You _know_ what I meant."

"Well, no I don't. You're just confusing me now."

"You spent the night in his room!" she glared at me. "How can you be so stupid?"

"Um, I'm known for being that stupid. It's kinda my forte. How do you not know that?" and then a thought occurred to me. "And what were you doing sending _him_—" I pointed at Abe "—to come find me? I don't even know the guy!" She opened her mouth—probably to tell me he's my father—and I cut her off. "And yes, I know he's my father. We had the whole revelation already—but what gives him the right to come drag me out my boyfriend's room? I'm eighteen! He's had eighteen years to be the over-protective father and was he here? No! So, tell me, what makes you think you have the right to do it now?" I asked, turning towards him.

"I never said I did. Your mother simply asked if I could bring you here. I asked where you were and she told me. She told me he was your mentor and I lost it."

"So? You have no right to get worked up over who I'm with. Like I said: if you wanted to be protective of me, you would've done it eighteen years ago." I stood up and walked towards the door. "I'm leaving now, don't even try and stop me; you won't succeed." I stormed out, slamming the door behind me.

I stormed across campus to where Dimitri's room was. He was packing.

"I like the wardrobe choice." He commented as I entered the room. I was wearing denim shorts and a tight tank top—and running shoes.

"Thanks. Loving yours, too." He hadn't changed since I'd left and was only wearing jeans. He chuckled. I picked up my dress and shoes from the floor. I walked over and flopped down on the bed. "Ugh! It's_ early_!" I complained. "How can you ever be awake at this time in a morning?" he laughed at me.

"Rose, you're usually awake at this time for practise. How is this any different from any of those times?"

"Because." I looked at the clock—it was just after six-thirty. "I'm usually only just waking up at this time in a morning—there's an extra thirty minutes of sleep. Plus it's _Sunday_ today!"

"So? Most of this school wakes up at normal school hours to go to church."

"I don't go to church. God and I have a standing order."

"Which is…?" he laughed.

"I agree to believe in him _if_ he lets me sleep in on Sundays. So today, I do _not_ believe in him because he woke me up at this _ungodly_ hour. So_ there_." I stated very matter-of-factly.

He rolled his eyes at me. "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised." I threw my shoes at him—which he caught. He dropped his bag and my shoes and straddled me on the bed, pinning my arms above my head. "You never cease to amaze me, Roza." He kissed me, almost roughly, yet it still conveyed all the love he held for me. I kissed him back with the same passion, and before long, we were both breathing heavily.

"What do you say we make the most of the time we have left together, huh, Comrade?" he kissed me again, with the same passion, and his hands travelled to my waist. His hands trailed up my shirt, pulling it over my head in no time.

"I say, what are we waiting for?" he unbuttoned my shorts and pulled them off in one swift move. I rolled us over so I was on top and removed his jeans. I could feel his excitement growing against my leg. He undid my bra, and I leaned over him, still kissing him. He hadn't been wearing any underwear—he'd just pulled jeans on quickly when Abe was banging on the door—so all that was separating us was the thin layer of my panties. He flipped us over and removed them.

We came together, and it was amazing—better than any other time we'd done it. I cried out his name in ecstasy and he smothered me with a kiss, reminding me that we really didn't need another parental unit busting in on us—not that Abe had seen anything, but he could have.

When we were done, I lay in his chest, making idle conversation. He held me in his arms, running his fingers through my hair.

"I'm gonna miss you so much."

"I know. I love you so much."

"Will you be back before the trials?" I leaned up on my elbows, so I could see his face.

"I should be here the day of the trials, but my family will be here a day or two earlier. Viktoria and Paul will probably hunt you down. I've told them a lot about you."

"How old is Viktoria?"

"She's sixteen. She's the youngest in the family, unless you count Paul and Zoya. Sonya's twenty-six, Karolina's twenty-eight. Olena is my mother; Yeva is my grand-mother. Paul and Zoya are Karolina's children. Paul is ten and Zoya is only about one." There was an affectionate look he got in his eyes whenever he spoke of his family. He never got it at any other time, yet I suspected it would be because he rarely got to see them. But still, I couldn't help but feel jealous that I could never evoke that look.

"You're so lucky." I mused. "You have such a big family. I wish mine was like that." He kissed me.

"Well, when there's seven people and only one bathroom, it isn't quite so great." We both laughed then and he kissed me again.

"Wait," I said, thinking aloud. "If she's sixteen, shouldn't she be in school the days that she'll be here?"

"She's taking all her finals early so she can come." I thought about it for a moment and figured it all made perfect sense.

"Where will you go stay while you're gone?" his face dropped almost instantly.

"With Tasha." I felt my eyes harden. I began to sit up. "Wait—you don't need to worry about her. I love_ you_. I know you don't like her, but I don't like her like that."

"I don't care. She does like you like that. That's all that matters." I looked up at him. "She's in love with you, Dimitri. I don't trust her."

His arms wrapped around me and I leaned into his chest. "Believe me, I know how you feel about her. I wouldn't be going if she wasn't so close. It was either Tasha's or the Royal Court. I figured Tasha was the easier option, since she'd be flying in for it anyway."

"Okay," I grumbled. "So long as you promise me one thing." I pulled back and looked up at him. He had a questioning look in his eyes. "She doesn't get within two feet of your bed." He broke into a grin.

"Deal." He held out his hand and I shook it. I then wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him.

"I love you." We were laying on the bed by now—we'd just mad out for the past twenty minutes.

"Love you, too, Comrade." I kissed him once more, quickly, before checking the time on the clock. We both groaned at the same time. We'd been here longer than we realised. It was eight a.m. "What time you flying out?"

"About ten minutes."

"Well, shit."

"I'll just pack what I need; I can get anything else when I get there. At least the Academy's got the courtesy to send me away on the jet." We got dressed quickly, trying to pack Dimitri as much stuff as possible at the same time. At seven minutes past eight, we ran out to the airstrip—we'd only managed to pack a backpack worth of things, but it at least it had everything he needed: toothbrush, underwear, a couple clean shirts and another pair of jeans. He was wearing his duster, so that saved some space in the backpack. Actually, the size he is, it's a shock that much could fit in.

We made it to the airstrip just in time. He wrapped one arm around my waist and kissed my quickly.

"I love you, Roza."

"Love you, too." He began to walk up the stairs when a thought occurred to me. "Wait," he turned to me. "Where's your key? I still didn't get my stuff."

He dug through his pockets and came out with it. He tossed it to me, just hard enough that I could catch it. I put it in my own pocket. I felt the lump in my throat and swallowed it down. I will not cry, I promised myself. But when he paused at the top of the stairs, I couldn't contain it any longer. A sob broke through and tears started streaming down my face.

"I'll see you soon," he called. His face fell at the sight of me like that, and I could tell he was about to come back down and hold me just once more, but the flight attendant came and ushered him inside. He turned to me and waved—and, just before the door closed, I saw a single tear fall from his eye.

I turned and ran away, as fast as I could; I couldn't bear to see Dimitri leaving. I ran back to my room, not bothering to go back and get my things. I lay on the bed and tried to get the tears under control. It took a while, but in the end, they did stop. I got up and walked to the bathroom. I looked in the mirror; my eyes were puffy, and I had tear tracks down my face.

I ran the cool tap and rinsed my face. The icy water un-puffed my eyes and they weren't quite so red anymore. I went back to my room and brushed a bit of loose powder over my face; it covered it up enough that it wasn't noticeable. I checked the clock to find it was one p.m.—a.k.a. lunchtime. It was only then I realised I hadn't eaten yet, today.

I walked down to the commons, with everybody I passed staring at me. I heard a few whispers as I passed them.

"…_with_ Guardian Belikov…"

"…thought she'd be leaving…"

"…only _she_…"

I didn't really want to hear the end to that one; I had a feeling it would be something spiteful about what a whore I am.

"How're you holding up?" Lissa asked as I sat down with her and Christian in the commons.

"Just about. It's only two weeks; I gotta keep telling myself that. I'll see him again in two weeks. I can handle the whispers and stares so long as I keep that in mind." And then I had a thought. Dimitri would probably be at Tasha's by now. "Hey, Christian, you think you could do me a favour?"

"Umm, okay…?"

"Oh, it's not that bad! Why you sound scared?"

"Because usually, when you ask someone for a favour, it usually means you're gonna embarrass them majorly." Lissa said.

"Well, I promise this isn't anything bad. The only person it'll embarrass is Tasha. Which brings me back to my original point." I gave Christian an angelic smile.

"Fine, what is it?"

"Call Tasha and tell her Rose says to keep her hands of my man."

"Sure."

"But she has to have it on speakerphone when you say it. Because otherwise it won't be funny. And your phone needs to be on speaker too, because I wanna hear."

"That's not as bad as I was expecting." He pulled out his phone and dialled Tasha's number. He put it on speaker and laid it on the table.

"Hello?" she answered after only one ring.

"Tasha?" Christian began.

"Oh, Christian, it's been so long since I've seen you!" she gushed. "Why'd you call?"

"Umm, I had something I needed to tell you." He sounded confused; he didn't know Dimitri was going to stay with Tasha while he was away.

"Sure, what is it?" just then the doorbell rang. Hell yes! Jackpot! Perfect timing or what? "I just need to go answer the door. I'm putting you on speakerphone for just a moment." It's like she's reading my mind. We could faintly hear the door open. "Dimka!" she squealed. I mimed gagging to Lissa, who giggled. "What are you doing here?"

"Tasha?" Christian asked before Dimitri could say anything.

"Oh, yes. Now what was it you needed to tell me?" I think Christian and Lissa had clocked on to what was going on now.

"Rose says to keep your hands off her man." I could practically hear Dimitri rolling his eyes through the phone. I began writing on a napkin what I wanted him to say next. I knew that if that didn't get Tasha flustered, then this would.

"Wh-what? What does she mean by that?" I handed the napkin to Christian who just about pissed himself laughing.

"She says, I know you are in love with Dimitri, don't even pretend you don't wanna do the funky chicken in his bed. Drop his hand. Dimitri, take two steps away. You're too close." Lissa fell off her chair laughing, and I could tell Christian was having trouble staying upright—and I just knew Tasha was embarrassed out of her mind.

"Rose, what the hell is the funky chicken? And why are those two laughing so bad?" Dimitri asked. "And why did Tasha just lock herself in the Bathroom?"

"Oh, you like the funky chicken, remember, Comrade?" I couldn't stay out of this any longer.

"Oh, do I? Please, enlighten me—when exactly _did_ I do the funky chicken?"

"This morning. And last night. And I'm pretty sure there's a few more on that list. I know of at least one more occasion."

"Rose." He was using his mentor-y voice now.

"Oh, lighten up, Comrade! I was just having some fun!" I paused for a moment, hoping he'd calmed down. "But, do you think you could at least tell me…what did she look like before she ran away and hid?"

"Red, very, very red. And equally embarrassed." He sounded somewhere between amused and exasperated.

"Mission accomplished." I said with a smug smile.

"You're evil, Roza."

"I know. But that's how you love me."

"I do, now give Christian his phone back." I pouted, wanting to talk to him forever, but I knew I couldn't.

"That's probably the safest bet, since we're in the middle of the commons right now. Oh, and one more thing!" I said as Christian was picking the phone up.

"What?"

"Don't do the funky chicken without me!" he laughed.

"I won't. Goodbye, Roza."

"I love you."

"I love you, too." Christian ended the call.

"You really are evil, Rose, you know that, right?" he commented.

"Oh, I know, but even you were laughing your ass off. I just couldn't resist such a good opportunity."

"Yes, Rose," Lissa said, "but we didn't need quite so much detail."

"Detail? You call that detail?" I exclaimed. She nodded. "Try being dragged into your head! The first time you two did it you were so god damn happy I was dragged from my bed into your head. It was awful! _And_ it's happened more than once since then!" she opened her mouth to speak, but I just waved her off and stood up. "I'm going to eat, then I'm going to go get all my stuff and go back to bed. I have been up since six a.m."

"Yeah, well, we already know what you were doing at six a.m. don't we?"

"No, actually. This guy came beating down the door, mom told me he's my dad, I yelled at them for a moment. We didn't do anything until six-thirty, thank you very much." I stalked away to get food.

Only to run into Jesse.

**BTW, The Funky Chicken idea is copyrighted to my older sister. She got hyper after she went to the gym and started talking about the funky chicken.**

**Please Review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hi! I'm sorry it took me so long, but I am finishing this story. I had writers block is all, but I can promise you that it will not take me as long to update ever again. I have been writing this chapter for about two months now.**

Chapter 4

I ignored him at first, just walking away, hoping he wouldn't make any stupid comments. Of course, I was wrong.

"Hey, Rose, is it true you fucked Guardian Belikov?" I froze where I was standing before turning back to him. His smirk faltered for a moment at the look on my face, but returned when I didn't lunge for him immediately. "Look at your face. So it is true?" by now almost the entire commons was staring.

In my next words, the venom was almost palpable. "Shut the _fuck_ up, Jesse." I took one step forwards. He gulped audibly, but continued his interrogation anyway. Apparently, he hadn't learned his lesson four months ago. Stupid boy.

"So that answers that question. Next one: do you sleep with anything that moves, or is it strictly limited to instructors? 'Cause I was thinking about trying my chances again. Admit it, you would've if Belikov hadn't interrupted."

"I will never be stupid enough to get that close to you again, unless it involved murder." He blanched and his expression dropped to a look of horror. I stepped forwards and he stumbled one step back.

"You wouldn't do that. You can't. You won't graduate if you do. I'm a Royal Moroi. You'd be locked up." He seemed more like he was trying to convince himself more than me.

"Oh, really? You wanna try me? You've got three seconds." My lips turned up into an evil smile. "One…"

"You can't."

"Two…"

"You wouldn't."

"Three." I got right up in his face. "Run. I'll give you a ten second head start." I whispered. And he did. Stumbling over his own feet, he tried to get away from me as fast as possible. "One…two…three…four…five…six…seven…eight…nine…" I whispered to myself. "Ten." And I shot away faster than Jesse had. I found him not far outside the commons, near the forest surrounding the school. It seemed he thought I wasn't coming after him. When he saw me coming, he shot off like a bat out of hell. I caught up to him easily, just as we were surrounded by woodland.

I threw him to the ground and he struggled to get up again, but I didn't let him. I kicked him and he fell on his back. "Did you not learn your lesson before? You don't mess with me, Jesse. You do realise I have a stake, right? It's not on me now, but I could go back and get it in less than a minute. Would you like that?" I pulled him up by his collar and pinned him to a tree. He was shaking his head furiously. I punched him in the face. I heard the crunch of the bone breaking and his him again.

I smashed him into the tree again and he mumbled, "Please stop. I'm sorry. I've learned my lesson." Just then, I felt Lissa approaching. She crammed right in beside Jesse and tried to reason with me.

"Rose," she said, "stop. You can't hurt him." I looked to her. She locked eyes with me. "He's learned his lesson, Rose. You need to stop. He's hurt, he's bleeding. Look at him." And so I did, and as soon as I broke eye contact with her, I got a funny feeling and my anger flared up. I threw Jesse to the ground once more, taking my anger at her out on him.

"Don't do that. Friends don't use their powers on friends." I snapped.

"Rose, it's the darkness. Jesse mentioning Dimitri triggered it and now you're just trying to find an outlet."

"No, I'm not. He needs to hurt." I turned back to Jesse, who was getting away as fast as he could, which wasn't very. He was only about ten feet away. As I started for him, I heard footsteps behind me. I lunged at him, tackling him to the ground and began punching him…again and again and again, just like I had last time.

But then he suddenly burst into flames.

I jumped back, trying to avoid the flames, and two strong pairs of arms began dragging me away. I began to thrash around, but they would not let go of me. I saw Lissa rush to his side and heal him and the flames dropped almost as soon as I was restrained. Christian ran over to Lissa to help Jesse up, and I heard him say something like, "thank you," to the two of them. So I began to kick. I felt more people grab my feet and I was set on the ground, pinned by guardians.

"Good god, how did Belikov ever manage this?" I heard a familiar voice mutter to herself. I looked around and saw my mother and Alberta pinning my arms. Alberta was the one to have spoken, but my mom was the one to take action. She slapped me.

"What the fuck was that for?" I roared at her.

"Rose, Rose, snap out of this! Calm down, it's the darkness, it isn't you." _It isn't you. _Those were the same words Dimitri had spoken to me the night in the cabin. It isn't you. It isn't me. I stopped fighting and everyone let go of me. They all sat back and I curled up on my side, covering my face. Mom put her hand on my back.

"I'm a monster." I whispered.

"No, you're not. It won't happen again. You'll fight it."

"It will. It happened before, and Dimitri said the same things then…and now look. It's only going to get worse." I breathed the last sentence so quietly I wasn't sure she would've heard me, but she lay on the ground next to me and pulled my hands away from my face so I had to look at her.

"Look, we will find something that will help. I think Abe mentioned a shadow-kissed couple he knows in Russia." She laid her hand on the side of my face. "If we ask, he'll arrange for them to come to the school. They can help you and Lissa through this all. At least a little."

I nodded. "Yeah. That'd be nice."

Two hours later, after we'd been to see Abe, the preparations for the couple to arrive were set in stone. Their names were Oksana and Mark, and—shockingly—they were married. This was shocking since Mark was a dhampir; Oksana had healed him after a Strigoi attack of some sort—not to the same extent as the one on the school, though—and he had given up guarding as he fell in love her.

"Are you not excited to meet them?" Lissa asked me, seeing the depressed expression on my face.

"Yeah, of course I am, Liss, it's just…what if it happens again? What if I go off on one at them and they get hurt? Dimitri isn't here, and that just makes it even worse; with him I can control it just a little bit."

"Maybe they know a solution to the darkness. Abe said that they were both perfectly healthy."

"I really hope they do, Liss. I don't think I can live with it much longer." I said. "No offense," I added, seeing the look on her face.

"Maybe I could just stop using the magic?"

"No, Liss, don't do that. I know how much you love your magic, and you shouldn't be forced into giving it up for me. We will find a way to stop us going crazy."

"You really think so?"

"I really do." Or at least I hoped.

Oksana and Mark arrived two days later; Abe had apparently loaned them his private jet—oh, yes; my dad has a private jet—and they came straight to the school. We were waiting for them at the airstrip so we could meet them as soon as possible. They were as eager to meet us as we were to meet them; they'd never met another spirit user before, let alone a shadow-kissed pair. Eventually, we went back to their room, Lissa talking to Oksana and myself to Mark.

"So," he said. "What would you like to know?"

"Wow. You don't waste time."

"I don't see any point in it. You must have lots of questions. I'll do my best to answer."

"How do you know Abe? You don't look like the sort to be friends with him."

"We aren't. Abe Mazur just knows lots of people who know people and tracks people down through his connections. That's how he found us. Years ago, he advised us on how to stay under the radar, and then asked us if we could help you and the princess."

"So, who was it that told you we were shadow-kissed?"

"He did, when he phoned us two days ago, but even without him, Oksana would have known what you are as soon as she met you. Being shadow-kissed has an effect on the aura."

"So she can see auras too," I murmured. "What else can she do? She must be able to heal, or you wouldn't be shadow-kissed. Does she have super-compulsion? Can she walk dreams?"

That caught him off guard. "Her compulsion is strong, yes…but what do you mean, walk dreams?"

"Like…she'd be able to enter someone else's mind when they're asleep. Anyone's mind—not just yours. Then they could have conversations, just as if they were together. My friend can do it."

Mark's expression told me that was news to him. "Your friend? Your bondmate?" he asked, gesturing to Lissa.

Bondmate? I'd never heard that term. It was weird-sounding, but it made sense. "No…another spirit user."

"Another? How many do you know?"

"Three, technically. Well, four now, counting Oksana."

"That many…that's incredible. I've only met one other spirit use, and that was years ago. He too was bonded to his guardian. That guardian died and it ripped him apart. He still helped us when Oksana and I were trying to figure things out."

I've braced myself for my own death before, and I feared for Lissa's. yet it never occurred to me just what it would be like with a bond. How would it affect the other person? What would it be like to have a gaping hole, where once you'd been intimately linked to someone else?

"He never mentioned walking dreams either," Mark continued. He chuckled, friendly lines crinkling up around his blue eyes, "I thought I would be helping you, but maybe you're here to help me."

"I don't know," I said doubtfully. "I think you guys have more experience at this than we do."

He chuckled again. "Where's this other sprit user you were talking about?"

"Probably passed out in his room, butt drunk. It's how he deals with his darkness: drinking and chain-smoking."

"Well, that's what he has to do. You're the lucky ones." I just stared at him, confused.

"What do you mean? There's nothing anyone can do about the darkness, let alone me. It'll just eat away at me until I go insane and kill myself. Like Anna did." He looked at me, shocked.

"Why don't you have Lissa heal it out of you?" by now, I had no idea what he was talking about. "She can heal you, just like with any other illness." He pulled a ring from his back pocket and handed it to me.

"Um, thanks…?"

"It has healing power in it. Oksana made it for you. It should take away some of the darkness. Healing takes up a lot of energy, and healing darkness takes up more; this should last up until she can build enough strength." I put the ring on my right hand, on my pinkie since it was such a tiny ring and wouldn't fit on any other finger. It was silver with a stone on the front—a jade to match Lissa's eyes. Mark saw me eyeing it. "Oksana picked it." He explained.

I heard Lissa's phone beep from the other side of the room. "Rose, we have to go. Adrian passed out by the elementary dorms and is scaring the little kids."

"Sure, Liss." I laughed. "We can go get him."

"Thanks." She gave me a grateful smile.

**I hope you enjoyed it. It isn't my best work, but it's the best I could do. I was completely lost as to what to do for this chapter. But it's okay. I know how the rest of the story is going to go.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Before April, as I promised to all those who asked. I have to say, I am getting better at updating. Although, to meet the deadline I set myself, I had to cut it a little shorter than I wanted. **

Chapter 5

The next two weeks passed surprisingly fast—surprising because Dimitri wasn't here, of course. Lissa worked with Oksana and Adrian on spirit while Mark taught me to control the darkness.

"Have you ever run into, um, ghosts?" I asked him one time.

He was silent for a few moments before replying. "I was hoping that wouldn't happen to you."

It astonished me how much I was relieved that I wasn't alone in my ghostly experiences. Even though I now know that having died and been to the world of the dead made me a target for spirits, it was still one of the freakiest things about being shadow-kissed.

"Did it happen without you wanting it?" I asked.

"At first. Then I learned to control it."

"Will you show me how?"

We practised that for the rest of his visit. We would stand just over the boundaries of the wards and I would block out the ghosts. It actually worked in more-or-less the same way as blocking Lissa did. I had it perfected within about two days, we only went out time and time again to see how long I could hold it up for. As soon as the headache was encroaching, we would sit inside the wards while I ate and drank before going back out to practise some more.

As promised, the Belikovs arrived two days before the trials. To be honest, I think Dimitri had more contact with his family than he let on; I was woken up to banging on my door. I looked over to the alarm by my bed to find that it was ten a.m. I groaned.

"_What_ the _fuck_ do you _want_?" I yanked the door open to reveal a girl a couple of years younger than me giggling. She had dark hair and eyes the same shade as Dimitri and when she spoke, she had a Russian accent. This was Viktoria; Dimitri had said she would come find me.

"Hi. Dimka was right; you are just _delightful_." The emphasis on the last word obviously indicated sarcasm; it was actually the sort of comment I'd deliver, but my sleepy brain didn't register that fact and I went to slam the door in her face. She caught it just before it closed shut. "I'm Viktoria, Dimitri's sister." She said as I made my way back to bed.

"Yes, I know, but it's Saturday, and I'm sleepy, so fuck off and leave me alone." I said as I face-planted the bed.

"I'll come back in a couple hours, okay?" she said before leaving.

"Whatever." I mumbled into the pillow I heard the door shut as she left the room. I fell asleep almost instantly…

…and woke up just as quickly. That was Dimitri's sister; the girl I'd been so eager to meet just two weeks ago, I had just told to get lost and leave me alone. I checked my alarm to check that I hadn't been asleep for too long, hoping she may still be around, but found that it was almost midday. I got up and showered and dressed, and as promised, Viktoria returned at twelve.

"Look, I'm sorry I was so snappy earlier; it's just that since Dimitri's been gone, I haven't had to wake up at five every day, and I haven't had classes, so I just had to go to the gym when I was awake. So, you know, breakfast at two p.m. every day." I explained as we walked to the cafeteria to get something to eat.

"Don't worry; I never get up much earlier than eight; I've never been able to understand how Dimka does it. Even when we were kids, he'd always be up at the crack of dawn doing something."

I picked up two donuts, grateful that they'd been left out since breakfast, and a BLT. Yum. I saw Viktoria look at me strangely as I then proceeded to pile my plate with junk food.

"What?" I asked defensively. She peered suspiciously at the molnija marks on the back of my neck as I had my hair in a ponytail.

"How did you get _those_ when you eat like _that_?"

"I was trained by your brother, remember?" my tone kind of implied the _stupid _part I neglected but she nodded to herself in understanding.

"Well there is that." She agreed. "So," she began cheerily, "how did you and my brother meet?"

"He dragged Lissa and I back here from Portland and was forced to mentor me. And…you know…" I trailed off slightly at the end.

"Ah, I see."

"Yes. Well, once I've finished this, I'll take you to meet my friends. You'll love them. Promise." I said.

"Tetya Vika!" a small boy came running up to us at full speed and barrelled into Viktoria. He seemed around eight years old, maybe a little older, and was like a tiny version of Dimitri. I'd wondered for a moment who he was talking to, but then I remembered the ridiculous Russian nicknames.

Viktoria picked the little boy and started talking to him rapidly in Russian so I tuned out, sat down and started eating. I tuned back in when they switched to English in my favour. She set him down and sat in the seat by me.

"Is this Auntie Rose?" he asked her.

"Yes, it is." He turned to me with a shit eating grin on his face.

"I'm Paul." He held out a hand for me to shake. "You're really pretty."

"Thank you." I shook his hand. "You're very handsome, too."

"Thank you." He climbed up into my lap. "Can I call you Roza? That's what uncle Dimka says he calls you."

"You can call me anything you like, Paul." I took my last mouthful off food and stood up, setting Paul down. I bent down to his level for a moment. "Would you like to come meet my friends? They're dying to meet you."

"Yeah!" he screamed and then I led him and Viktoria to Lissa's room where they all were; Adrian, Lissa and Oksana were all practising spirit.

It was true; as soon as I told Lissa that Dimitri had a nephew, she had been dying to meet him. She was crazy about kids. She loved them more than she loved animals, and that's a lot. She'd also been wanting to meet the rest of Dimitri's siblings. We'd been talking on the phone every other day and he'd given me a better description of them all. I told her and she's desperate to meet them, too.

We arrived at Lissa's room and I just barged straight in, not bothering to knock.

"Hey, guys." I said. Lissa jumped up with barely a "hey" in my direction, focused on Paul.

"Hey, little man. Who are you?"

"I'm Paul. You're really pretty. Just like Auntie Roza."

"Thank you. I'm Lissa." Just then I heard Oksana call out.

"Viktoria? What are you doing here?"

"I came for Rose's graduation. And to see my brother for the first time in, like, four years. But he got himself suspended," she looked at me with a smug smile. "Didn't he, Rose."

"He might have. I don't know. He just _vanished_. _Poof_." I made a little "poof" motion with my hands. She rolled her eyes.

"As if. I'm not stupid, Rose."

"I don't know what you're talking about." I said, very obviously avoiding looking at her. I did not want to be having this conversation. Especially not with Dimitri's sister.

"He told us, Rose." Awkward silence…

"So, Liss, did you learn any new tricks today?" I said in an obvious attempt to change the subject. Thankfully she decided to play along.

"Nope. I'm just getting the whole mind reading thing down."

"So what am I thinking now?" I challenged. She got a look of intense concentration on her face—much like when Adrian tried to heal for the first time—and then shot me a look.

"I'm not even going to repeat that."

"Why not? It wasn't rude or anything." I had actually been thinking the crudest song I knew. It's called Family Reunion by Blink 182. I'd only heard it twice before and the amount of profanities would make grandma's chase after you, threatening you by waving their purses in the air if they ever caught you playing it. _Every single word_ is a curse. I'd heard it when we were in Portland from a guy at school, and when I showed it to Lissa, the look on her face was _priceless._

"Small ears." She pointed to Paul and scowled at me.

"My ears are not that small. I'm a big boy now. I'm ten!" Paul crossed his arms across his chest stubbornly.

"Ooh, owned by a ten year old. That's gotta hurt, Liss."

"You are such a child." She rolled her eyes. I flopped down on the couch with Adrian. "This is Viktoria, by the way. Viktoria, this is Lissa and Adrian." I said as I put my feet in Adrian's lap.

"Oh, Little Dhampir, it's such a pleasure to know you think of me so highly as to claim me as your foot rest."

"Why, Mr Ivashkov, the pleasure is all mine."

"Wait," Viktoria said. "You're Adrian _Ivashkov_?"

"The one and only." He dumped my feet on the ground and scooted up along the sofa. He patted the space beside him. "Why don't you come sit with me. You look like you're about to pass out." She shook her head.

"Oh, and you're standing right beside Vasilisa Dragomir." I added. I chuckled. "Damn, girl; you're worse than Jill."

"Who's Jill?" she asked.

"Jill's a freshman. She almost fainted when she met me and Dimitri. Her eyes looked about to pop out of her head when she got an eyeful of him. It was hilarious." Viktoria still had her wide eyes glued on Adrian and took a few steps forward before sitting beside him with a dazed expression.

"Don't worry. We don't bite," Adrian teased. "Well, actually we do, but—"

"Adrian." A warning glare from Lissa cut off the rest of what he was going to say. And, to be honest, I don't really know what it was, for Viktoria's sake.

"I'm hurt," I said. "You didn't get like this meeting me!"

"I was _expecting _to meet you. What I was not expecting was Princess Dragomir."

We talked for a little while, and once Viktoria got past the shock of sitting beside Adrian Ivashkov—and the fact that he'd wrapped his arm around her shoulder—she joined in the conversation. Paul inserted a few comments that made us all chuckle and once said something in Russian that caused Viktoria so scowl at him. Oksana had excused herself, saying she would like to spend some time with her husband.

"You know, I think I'd better get back to our room. It's getting light and Mama will worry where we are." Viktoria said, standing up.

"Auntie Vika, are we leaving?" Paul asked. Viktoria shook her head. "But I want to stay with Auntie Roza and Lissa!" he complained.

"I know, but we've got to go see your Babushka. Rose and Lissa can come with us if they like."

"I'm up for it." I said, standing up. I looked over to Lissa.

"I think I'm gonna stay. Like you said, it's getting light and I'm kinda tired."

"Okay. So it's just me and you, then. Lead the way."

"How about you let me escort you pretty ladies?" I turned around to see Adrian standing up and wiggling his eyebrows.

"Wow. You really do have a death wish, don't you."

"Little Dhampir, what makes you think that?" I walked over to Viktoria and put my arm around her shoulders.

"This is Viktoria Belikov. Wanna think again, Ivashkov?" he gulped audibly.

"You mean…Belikov, as in…?"

"Yes, Adrian. As in Dimitri Belikov." I smirked happily. "So," I turned to Viktoria again. "You ready to go."

"Yep. Paul?"

"What?" his voice came from underneath Lissa's bed. I kneeled down and looked underneath.

"You're not a very good hider are you?"

"Yes, I am. There just isn't very good hiding spots in here."

"I know. But even if there was any, I'd still find you."

"How?" He looked extremely puzzled.

"You know how your uncle Dimka's awesome?" he nodded. "Well I'm better." The poor kid looked totally floored. "Now, if you come out now, I'll stay with you until you fall asleep."

"But I don't want to go."

"Sorry, dude. You gotta compromise."

"Okay." He said and crawled out from beneath the bed.

"Come on," I said, taking the hand he held out to me. "Bye, Liss. Bye, Adrian. Love you and…shiz!" I said, changing the word at the last moment, so my potty mouth wouldn't defile Paul's virgin mind.

"Uh-huh, Rose."

"Love you, too, Little Dhampir!" Adrian called as I closed the door.

"What was that about?" Viktoria asked as we headed off to her room.

"What was what about?" I said, puzzled.

"The look on his face when you mentioned my name."

"Oh; he was about to put the moves on you, and Dimitri's come about this close," I made a motion with my thumb and pointer finger to illustrate _just _how close he'd come, "to murdering him before. When Adrian and I first met, Dimitri and I weren't really talking, and I could tell he already didn't like Adrian, so I flirted with him, and he flirted back. and now he won't stop chasing me and Dimitri would murder him if he could get away with it."

"Oh." Viktoria had a thoughtful expression on her face. I wondered what that was about, but when she stopped where she was, I completely lost my train of thought.

"Is this your room?"

"It's my mom and Karolina's room. Sonya and I are staying just down the hall. But this is where everybody will be for the moment."

Paul barged through the door as we were speaking and announced loudly that Viktoria and I were here. I walked through as Paul dragged me and was shocked at how alike they all were. It was like being in a room with four female versions of Dimitri, a mini-Dimitri and a witch that vaguely resembled him. I assumed that the witch-type one was Olena.

Viktoria stepped through behind me and introduced me to her family. "Everybody, this is Rose. Rose, this is Karolina," she gestured to a woman in her late twenties, holding a baby, "Sonya," a slightly younger woman with a bulging belly smiled—she was pregnant, apparently, "my mother, Olena," she nodded towards the oldest version of Dimitri in the room, "and my grandmother, Yeva." They all smiled at me and muttered a "hi." All except Yeva. She mumbled something in Russian that did _not_ sound complimentary and walked out of the room.

"Don't mind her, Rose," Olena said. "She's just in a bad mood today."

"What did she say?" I asked. _I _thought it was a completely reasonable question, but Olena stayed silent; I looked around the room for someone to translate and Viktoria murmured in my ear.

"She said, 'how could my grandson fall for such a slut; I thought he had standards.'"

I felt my heart sink. I thought I could cry at hearing such a thing; I had tried my hardest to erase my reputation as a slut after I met Dimitri. "What?" I said. "Why would she say that?"

"I don't know, but the rest of us don't feel that way."

"I know."

I stayed there with the Belikovs for a little while, talking with them. I didn't talk much, but then again, Yeva had made me feel like crap.

"You know, I think I'm going to go back to my dorm; I'm not feeling too well."

"Okay," most of the women resigned, but Paul wouldn't.

"But, Auntie Roza, you said you'd stay with me until I went to bed. You've only been here for two minutes."

"I know, but I've got a headache and I need to go to bed. And you could also fix it by going to bed now, too."

"But I haven't had dinner yet."

"Then don't go to bed." He pouted at me. "Look, I know what I said, but I'm not feeling well and I _promise_ I'll be here tomorrow."

"And Lissa?"

"And Lissa." I conceded.

"And Adrian? I liked Adrian." He grinned.

I thought about it for a moment. "Maybe." I said.

He considered the deal for a moment. "Okay."

"Okay. Goodnight, Paul."

"Night, Auntie Roza."

"Oh, and one more thing: when you speak, it kinda gives away where you're hiding. Remember that next time."

"Okay," he giggled. I let myself out and leaned against the wall beside the door as I let the tears fall down from my eyes. I stayed there for a couple minutes before setting off towards Lissa's room.

"Am I a slut?" I asked as she opened the door. Adrian—thankfully—had gone home. The tears were falling heavily by now, and I was sobbing.

She pulled me inside. "What would make you say that?"

"It was just something Dimitri's grandmother said. But I tried so _hard _to change. I tried to change when I met him. I only went to one party since I came back, and I couldn't even bring myself to drink. And I would _never_ cheat on him if that's what she means. I mean—he's the _only _person I've _ever _slept with. And—and—" the tears and sobs were becoming too heavy to talk through now.

Lissa pulled me into a hug and I sobbed into her shoulder. She shushed me and stroked my hair. "What's gotten into you? The Rose I know would never get so upset by something like this!" she said as I was beginning to calm down.

"I know; it's just—I wanted their approval so _badly_, and then she said she was disappointed in Dimitri because he chose me."

"Where's your key? I'll go get you something to wear; you're staying here tonight." I held it out to her and lay down on the bed, still sobbing. I can't say how long Lissa was; I'd fallen asleep and she only woke me up to change. I fell asleep straight away after that.

And as I slept, I dreamed of Dimitri.


	6. SorryAN

I am very sorry it's taken me so long to update. I have writers block at the moment and also I am too tired to write at the moment. I'm trying to get back to it now and so I should have another chapter up soon.


	7. Chapter 6

**In this chapter and the next, it will merge slightly with Spirit Bound, so there will be a lot of passages** **more or less directly from the book, so DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN SPIRIT BOUND…UNLESS YOU COUNT THE COPY ON MY BOOKSHELF.**

Chapter 6

The next day was fun. Lissa and I went to see Paul—as promised—and spent the day with him and Viktoria. We spent some time with the other Belikovs, but I avoided Yeva, luckily.

"Hey, Paul," I said as I arrived at Olena and Karolina's room; I'd just walked straight in since I could hear him asking about me. "How's it going?" I leaned down to his height to hug him. He wrapped his arms around my neck and I stood straight as I realised he wasn't going to let go any time soon.

"You came!" he exclaimed.

"Yeah, I did. I said I would. I brought Lissa, too."

"Lissa!" he yelled. She took him from me to hug him, but couldn't hold his weight like I could, so set him on the ground. "Come see my bedroom." He grabbed both of our hands and started dragging us towards a room. The door was towards the back left hand corner or the room. He pulled us inside and closed the door.

"Wow, Paul, it's a great room!" I said as enthusiastically as I could; it wasn't all that great—pretty bare—but I'm guessing that the thing that excited him was the super-king-sized bed. I sat down on the bed and Paul climbed up next to me.

"I know, right? And the bed's _humungous!_"

"I know; it's way bigger than _my_ bed."

"Lissa, do _you_ have a big bed?"

"I do, but it isn't as big as your bed. Do you have a big bed at home, too?"

"No, it's only tiny," he had a really disgruntled look on his face.

"Hey," I said, trying to cheer him up. "Do you want me to take you down to the Gym?"

"Can I use the machines?"

"If you're a good boy."

"Yeah!" he screamed and ran back out into the living area telling everyone that I was taking him to the gym. "Auntie Vika, will you come, too?"

Viktoria looked at me and I nodded, answering her silent question. "Yeah, of course I will."

"Yeah!"

We spent most of the rest of the day in the gym. We did, of course, leave for lunch, but Paul loved it in there. It's just like any other gym that you could expect to see in a town. There was all the regular machines and weights, but there was an entire room floored with sparring mats and then about four normal gyms spread across the senior campus. They were where Dimitri and I used to practise. There were rafters around eight feet from the ground where punching bags and practise dummies hung from. I strung a couple up and let Paul "stake" them. Truthfully, I held the hand that had the stake in and put the force behind it, while also juggling him to keep him at my height.

"Mama, babushka, today I staked a Strigoi!" he yelled in his normal, over-excited tone.

"I swear it was not a Strigoi. It was a practise dummy and I held him so he couldn't get hurt. I would never let him be hurt." I said as Karolina turned to me with a glare. Her face softened slightly as I said this, but I could tell she wasn't happy I'd allowed her son to play with a stake.

It was almost dinnertime, so I kneeled down in front of Paul to speak to him. "Paul, I have to go and get my dinner, but then I have to go to bed, so I won't be able to come see you later."

"Why?" he asked, pouting. He looked so cute when he did that.

"Because tomorrow, I'm going to be a guardian. You can go see me fight tomorrow with your Auntie Vika and your Uncle Dimka's coming here tomorrow, too, so that'll be fun for you, right."

"Right." He agreed. "Auntie Roza, how do you know Uncle Dimka?"

"He was my teacher."

"Then why isn't he here now?" I shot Viktoria a look as she snickered.

"He went on a vacation for a little while to see his friend Tasha." I had to grit my teeth to stop the flow of profanities that usually followed her name. the rest of his sisters snickered as I tried to find a way to explain to a ten-year-old that his uncle slept with a minor and was suspended for it…without actually saying that.

"Okay. But I will get to see you tomorrow, won't I?"

"Yes. Night, Paul." I said and then hugged him and kissed him on the forehead.

"It isn't bed time, though."

"It is for me. Goodnight, Paul."

"Night, Auntie Roza." As I left the room, I said goodnight to everyone else.

"Aw, he's so sweet." Lissa commented as we made our way to the cafeteria. "I think he's got a bit of a crush on you, Rose."

"Yeah. It's so cute."

I leaned against one of the barrack walls and watched those around me. It appeared that I had been one of the last to show up, and I wondered if people had lost money betting on me. Some of my class mates whispered in clusters. Some were doing stretches and warm-up exercises. Others stood with instructors who had been mentors. Those teachers spoke intently to their students, giving last minute words of advice. I kept hearing words like _focus _and _calm down._ That was how i'd always imagined this day: Dimitri standing beside me, whispering words of encouragement.

"Don't worry, comrade." I'd tell him, "I can do this blindfolded. Hell, maybe I actually will. Do you have something I can use? If you're nice to me, I'll even let you tie it on." And maybe even help take it off later considering we've already slept together.

He'd chuckle and shake his head exasperatedly. "Rose, I swear, sometimes it feels like every day with you is my own personal trial." But he'd smile anyway, and it would be nice. And it would be enough to give me the encouragement I needed to head toward the field and get through the tests.

I leaned back against the wall and thought of his smile, his eyes, his laugh—

"Are you meditating?"

I opened my eyes and looked in the direction the voice had come from. "Mom? What are you doing here?" she had left about a week ago to return to her charge.

"Do you honestly think I wouldn't come to watch you?"

"I don't know," I admitted, feeling kind of guilty for doubting her. She and I hadn't had that much contact over the years, and it was only recent events—most of them bad—that had begun to reestablish out connection. Most of the time, I still didn't know how to feel about her. I oscillated between a little girl's need for her absent mother and a teenager's resentment over abandonment. I also wasn't entirely sure if I'd forgiven her for the time she "accidentally" punched me in the face during a mock fight. "I figured you'd have, you know, more important things to do."

"There's no way I could miss this." She inclined her head toward the stands, making her auburn curls sway. "Neither could your father." I turned to see if I could see him from where I stood. I could. "He'll be happy you made it on time," my mother said as I watched him from where I stood. "He's running some big wager on whether you'd show. He put his money on you, if that makes you feel any better."

"Of course. Of course he'd be the bookie behind the pool. I should have known as soon as—is he talking to Adrian?"

Yup. Sitting on the other side of Abe was Adrian Ivashkov. Adrian was a royal Moroi—and another spirit user like Lissa. He was crazy about me (and often just crazy) ever since we first met, but I'd only had eyes for Dimitri.

"That can't be good." Adrian was also a money man. He had his share of a fortune and I'm guessing he and Abe conjured up the bet between them and others joined in. That really would not shock me. He probably had hundreds of dollars in it.

Just then I heard my name announced and the crowd went silent. I noticed Dimitri sitting down beside Viktoria and Paul moving over to his lap.

"Rosemarie Hathaway." Alberta's voice boomed and echoed through the stands. I made my way towards the open space where I would face my final trial.

"Good luck." My mother whispered from behind me.

My trials were a blur.

You'd think, seeing as they were the most important part of my education at St Vladimir's, that I'd remember everything in perfect, crystalline detail. Yet my earlier thoughts were kind of realised. How could these measure up to what I'd already faced? How could these mock fights compare to a mob of Strigoi descending on the school? I'd had to stand against overwhelming odds, not knowing if those I loved were alive or dead.

Not that I meant to make light of the trials. They were serious. Novices failed them all the time, and I refused to be one of them. I was attacked on all sides, by guardians who'd been fighting and defending Moroi since before I was born. The arena wasn't flat, which complicated everything. They'd filled it with contraptions and obstacles, beams and steps that tested my balance—including a rickety bridge with only rope rails for support. Every step made the entire bridge swing and shake, and holes showed where my former classmates had (unfortunately for them) found weak spots.

**You know how it goes; this is exactly the same as in the book, so I can't be bothered to write it all out.**

When it was over, I stood in the middle of the field, panting and waiting for another attack. The crowds in stands went wild and I realised that I had finished and I had got them all. Mom came rushing over to me. She hugged me tightly and congratulated me as Alberta came over at a more leisurely pace. I returned her embrace, slightly shocked that she was the one to initiate it for a change.

"You did it, Rose," she whispered in my ear. I smiled; this was probably the only time she'd ever congratulated me on anything.

"Was that it?" I asked. She laughed and pulled back to see my face.

"You were out there for over an hour, Rose," she laughed. "You did amazing."

"Well," Alberta said from behind me, "I think it's safe to say you passed this one, Rose. Although, there was never any question about it."

"Thank you." I said before mom showed me off the field. Alberta called up the next novice to take the test as the other guardians wondered how they were going to fix the bridge. Oops. Well, you gotta do what you gotta do, right?

When we made it off the field, Dimitri was waiting for me. Mom glared at him for a moment before walking away without a fight. I turned to him. He looked so proud of me.

"Hey," I said. He walked over and wound his arms around my waist and pressed his lips to mine. "It's nice to see you too."

"It's _very_ nice to see you." He murmured. I laughed softly at the undertone of longing in his voice.

"I have missed you so much." He kissed me again and I reached up and put my arms around his neck. "But," I pecked his lips once more before I pulled away and said, "I have to go and get my promise mark right now, but I will see you…later." I gave him a sly smile before walking away, making sure to swing my hips more than usual.

**I can't think of anything to write. It's more or less the same as in Spirit Bound but with Dimitri as Roses boyfriend instead of Adrian, so just read this part of the book because there's no point in me copying it all out. Sorry I made you wait for so long.**


	8. Another AN

**Okay. So, I have writers block for Hopefully Happy Ending, right now, which is why I haven't updated in so long, so I'm taking a break and continuing with Dimitri's POV. I have just posted another chapter for it, so hopefully you can enjoy it while I continue to take months to think of a new chapter for HHE.**


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